Blast From the Past

Oscar Nom: Get Out

It’s the perfect time for me to hop back into writing reviews. The Oscars are about two weeks out & that means I already have 9 solid films nominated for Best Picture that people are actively reading about at this moment. I’ve seen 6 of them to date, so don’t get all butthurt if I don’t make it in time to post about all 9 before March 4. I’m only human.

Now, I’m just getting back into the swing of things, so this post isn’t perfect and I assume I’ll find my own structure of a review again after a few tries. Like they say, practice makes perfect. But for now, read my scattered thoughts as I present them, mwhaha.

I’m starting with Get Out. I saw this movie for the first time a whole year ago when it came out in February, but I’ve still got lots to say.

My Synopsis: Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams) are an interracial couple. Chris is going to Rose’s parents house for the weekend to meet them for the first time. Rose’s parents (played by Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener) make some uncomfortable comments about black people and after some very strange interactions with the housekeeper and groundskeeper, who are also black, Chris begins to question what is really going on around this place. Throw in a little hypnotism, commentary on racism, satire & we have Get Out.

Image by Cullin Tobin

I love how smart this film is. It’s brillant. After I left the theater, I remember being mad at myself for not being as smart as director, Jordan Peele – excuse me, not fair. Satire almost always impresses me because it successfully changes what certain actions mean to us with just a bit of exaggeration and humor.

Get Out perfectly captured metaphor. It’s impressive because not only is one scene of the film a metaphor, or not only is one plotline of the film a metaphor, but the whole damn film is a metaphor. It’s like you’re visually watching one thing while your brain is figuring out this whole, other underlying story.

This film stands out because it communicates so much in ways not many other films have before. For instance, it encapsulates the perfect amount of humor, but without ever taking away from the fact that it is absolutely a horror movie. The viewer is watching the horror the entire time; it’s just not wearing a mask or holding a slasher knife or a clown or whatever else makes you naturally want to scream for your mommy.

Peele sets the tone from the very first scene of the film when we see a young black man walking home at night when a random car seems to be tailing him with the headlights on. This is definitely creepy in general, but also sent some of our minds, including mine, right to stories of Trayvon Martin and other instances of profiling. We’ve got our mental and physical horror right there first thing.

Also, don’t you just love this dude from FX’s Atlanta? Name’s Lakeith Stanfield. I pretty much freaked once I made the connection it was him. Followed by more freaking out when I made the connection that he plays Snoop in Straight Outta Compton.

Image by Giphy

Image by FX

Not to mention, don’t you also just love Lil Rey Howery in this movie? Holy shit, he’s hilarious. Howery plays Chris’ friend who is also a TSA agent and seems to know what the hell is going on at the Armitage’s estate just from Chris’ numerous phone call updates. An unsung hero. Just going to shout out his new movie, Uncle Drew, that looks like it has a lot more of Howery’s one-liners.

Image by Giphy

Word is Peele will be directing several movies following the structure of Get Out’s satirical and scary commentary on race and prejudice in America. There hasn’t been any talk on the the concept of the next film, but I know I’ll be eagerly waiting if it’s anywhere near as brillant as Get Out.

The only thing that really could have made this film any better was if Daniel Kaluuya could have used his real British accent because damn, he sounds sweet.